“Strong Growth” expected

Michael Offermann, the head of crypto banking at the institute says they have been “dealing intensively with the topic of crypto custody for a year and a half.”

The bank has a banking license and expects “strong growth” once it becomes easier to buy and store bitcoin. Its sales potential in the first year has already been in the seven-digit range. He said,

“The new regulation in the new Money Laundering Act is a good time to start practicing. After all, we are not a research institute, but a commercial bank.”

Including cryptos & increased customer protection

The new Money laundering Act that went into effect on January 1st, 2020 no longer allows banks to only offer and keep traditional securities like stocks and bonds. This means, now these banks can offer their customers custody for virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.

The new law defines crypto assets as “digital representation of a value” that isn’t issued by a central bank or an official authority. It also doesn’t have the legal status of a currency or money. However, it is accepted as a means of payment or exchange and further used for investment purposes.

Bafin already considers security tokens as financial instruments and with this new law, consumer protection is also increased as “previous business models that were too lax when identifying customers have to be adjusted or discontinued.”

“We have almost a unique selling point that will help us bring the reputable providers to Germany,” it said.

AnTy has been involved in the crypto space full-time for over two years now. Before her blockchain beginnings, she worked with the NGO, Doctor Without Borders as a fundraiser and since then exploring, reading, and creating for different industry segments.

[Alert] Use the author's self-conducted information at your own risk, do you own research, never invest more than you are willing to lose.

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